A FORMER North Wales bank manager has pledged this week to use his contacts to bring new investment into Abergele and Colwyn Bay.

David Chester, who ran the Mold branch of the TSB bank in the 1980s, met with members of the Best of Colwyn Bay business website last Thursday and vowed to use his experience to boost both towns.

“North Wales has a great infrastructure, with the A55, the railways, and the growing role of air travel, and there are people in the financial sector in London who are willing to invest here if there are the right opportunities” he said.

“With everything that’s gone on in the financial sector, people tend to view bankers with a bit of suspicion, but I want to help the smaller grass roots businesses in Abergele, Colwyn Bay, and other towns and help bring money in. As someone who used to go on holiday to North Wales as a child, it’s like coming home.”

Mr Chester, who currently has a North Wales office in Queensferry, took over running the Best of Colwyn Bay website, which helps to promote small businesses in the Abergele and Colwyn Bay areas on February 14 and says that he is looking forward to using both his business experience and network of contacts across the UK and the Middle East to help encourage more private funding, which he believes will have a knock-on effect across the region.

Along with his previous work for TSB, he notably aided Matalan boss John Hargreaves in the 1990s to attract funding from venture capitalists for his firm.

The move has been welcomed by traders from both towns who use the website.

“Sites like Best of Colwyn Bay do a great job promoting the area” said Cheryl Carlisle, Head of the Old Colwyn Business Forum.

“Any investment into the area is wonderful news, especially given the recession is really starting to bite.”